Download Adoption of recent amendments to Joint Food Standards under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code Notice, Amendment No. 241, 242, 243, 244

Requirements, Law & Policy, Food standards

Australian Amendment no. 241, 242, 243 and 244. These amendments are set out below:

Changes stemming from amendment 241 are to:
• Clarify that nutrition content claims about sugar can be made on alcoholic beverages containing more than 1.15% alcohol by volume (ABV). Claims about individual sugars (e.g., fructose) or other components of carbohydrates are prohibited.
• Require a standardised energy statement on most alcoholic beverages. This statement must include energy content per serving, energy content per 100 mL, number of servings per package, the serving size, and the number of standard drinks per serving.
• Prescribe the content and format requirements for a voluntary Nutrition Information Panel (NIP).

Changes stemming from amendment 242 are to:
• Permit insect-protected soybean line COR23134 as a food produced using gene technology.

Changes stemming from amendment 243 are to:
• Replace the term ‘food produced using gene technology’ with ‘genetically modified food’ in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
• Define ‘genetically modified food’ as food that:
o is an organism that contains novel DNA,
o is derived from an organism that contains novel DNA,
o are cells that contain novel DNA, or
o is derived from cells that contain novel DNA.
This definition does not include:
o substances used as additives or processing aids,
o substances used to support the growth and viability of cells during cell culture,
o substances used to process cells during cell culture,
o food derived from part of a grafted plant where that part does not contain novel DNA, or
o food derived from a null segregant.
• Define ‘novel DNA’ as DNA that a person has inserted into the genome of an organism, cell or cells is one of the following:
o DNA from a species that is not a crossable species,
o DNA that is from a crossable species and contains a coding region that was rearranged or recombined prior to insertion, or
o DNA that is not from an existing species.

Changes stemming from amendment 244 are to:
• Permit the use of chitosan and beta-1,3-glucans from white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) as a food additive.